Ellen hit a science home run! She whipped off the tablecloth, smashed the veggies and popped the pumpkins like a pro. We just returned from the Ellen Show studios in Burbank, California, and I couldn't be more excited (and relieved) about the segment. The relief part comes from the fact that the producers selected a few high risk demos like the tablecloth pull and the self-carving pumpkins. As I've written in the past, I never get a chance to practice any of the demonstrations with Ellen. She even mentioned this during the introduction… "I purposely don't know what is going to happen because I want it to be a surprise."

The segment started by teaching Ellen how to use the law of inertia to pull the tablecloth out from under the dishes. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I felt that teaching the viewers at home (especially the kids) how to do the famous tablecloth trick was the most responsible thing I could do! The key instruction was this simple statement… pul the cloth straight down… and she did! Nice job. After whipping off the tablecloth, we moved to flash freezing fruit using liquid nitrogen. It's amazing the mess you can make with a few pieces of frozen fruit and a rubber hammer. We moved to the big finale with a table filled with pre-carved pumpkins. If you know anything about me, you can probably guess what happened. Look Mom… my chemistry degree paid off. Three kabooms and three carved pumpkins (minus one eye that refused to fly away).

After the segment, I got a chance to talk to Ellen just long enough to thank her for shining the spotlight on all the teachers and parents who are helping to make science education more exciting and meaningful. A few ooohs & ahhhs go a long way. Thanks Ellen.

Share this entry

https://stevespangler.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/WebsiteLogo.png00Steve Spanglerhttps://stevespangler.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/WebsiteLogo.pngSteve Spangler2007-10-31 11:11:152016-04-01 11:45:24Back from the Ellen Show… She Did It!

Hey, Steve! 🙂
I really, hope you read this!I would love to do one of the experiments you did, but I dont know how.
To let you know which experiment I’m talking about, it’s this one:
Here is the link to the video:

“Caution! This experiment requires the use of very warm water… which requires the assistance of an adult helper. Watch the Video”

If you right click on “WATCH THE VIDEO”, and than save target as, you will be able to view the video with WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER.(It didnt want to open with realplayer.)

But,the part in question is the section after 2 minutes…

I want to know where I can get:

1.)The raw liquids you used..
2.)How much do I need of it?
3.)What are you mixing the raw liquids with?
4.)And how much do I need of that too?

Oh, and any other information you can give me…
(I am not a child by the way. I’m actually 18 and I want to do this experiment for my niece, who is madly in love with science. She’s so cute. She loves your work! She wants me to do this one for her..)

So, if you can get back to me, I would greatly appreciate it!

Best wishes and good luck with everything you do! I’m a huge fan! You make science fun and I love it!

Sincerely,
J. Keibler

P.S. I dont know if you are able to see my email address. If not, I’ll be checking back to see if you responded here…